There are few regions on the planet as strange and mysterious as
the untouched seafloors beneath the Arctic ice. Over the past several years, scientists have launched expeditions to reveal exotic seafloor life, focusing on an
area of hydrothermal vent fields along the Gakkel Ridge, an area that has been
almost entirely cut off from other ecosystems for at least 26 million
years.
The battle lines of future conflict between nations are emerging
along the fault lines of the polar ice caps of our planet. An
international race for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, is
being accelerated by the impact of global warming on Earth's frozen
north.
Early in 2007, a team of Canadian explorers traveled for 47 days from the tip of
Antarctica to reach the most remote point of its geographic interior
-the "Pole of Inaccessibility" trekking through 250 kilometers – mostly
by kiting, using giant kite-sails to pull attached skiers along snowy
trails.
When they reached the Pole, they were greeted by a surprising
sight – a statue of Vladimir Lenin sticking out two meters above
the snow. Lenin's statue was placed there by Russian explorers in 1958.
There are few regions on the planet as strange and mysterious as
the untouched seafloors beneath the Arctic ice. Over the past several years, scientists have launched expeditions to reveal exotic seafloor life, focusing on an
area of hydrothermal vent fields along the Gakkel Ridge, an area that has been
almost entirely cut off from other ecosystems for at least 26 million
years.
The battle lines of future conflict between nations are emerging
along the fault lines of the polar ice caps of our planet. An
international race for oil, fish, diamonds and shipping routes, is
being accelerated by the impact of global warming on Earth's frozen
north.
Early in 2007, a team of Canadian explorers traveled for 47 days from the tip of
Antarctica to reach the most remote point of its geographic interior
-the "Pole of Inaccessibility" trekking through 250 kilometers – mostly
by kiting, using giant kite-sails to pull attached skiers along snowy
trails.
When they reached the Pole, they were greeted by a surprising
sight – a statue of Vladimir Lenin sticking out two meters above
the snow. Lenin's statue was placed there by Russian explorers in 1958.
There are few regions on the planet as strange and mysterious as
the untouched seafloors beneath the Arctic ice. Over the past several years, scientists have launched expeditions to reveal exotic seafloor life, focusing on an
area of hydrothermal vent fields along the Gakkel Ridge, an area that has been
almost entirely cut off from other ecosystems for at least 26 million
years.
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